Tampa Bay Lands the 2022 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament

May 27, 2014

TAMPA, FL – The Southeastern Conference
(SEC) has awarded Tampa Bay and the Tampa Bay Times Forum the 2022
SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament. Today’s announcement
by Commissioner Mike Slive marks the second time Tampa Bay will
host the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament, with 2009 being the
previous occasion. According to local organizers over 13,000 hotel
visitor room night stays could result from the event. The SEC
Men’s Basketball Tournament will take place at the Tampa Bay
Times Forum starting Wednesday, March 9 through Sunday, March 13,
2022.

“Tampa is a great scene for us in terms of having an
outstanding facility and environment there,” said SEC
Commissioner Mike Slive. “We are looking forward to having
the 2022 SEC back in Tampa."

“We’re elated that the Southeastern Conference has
chosen us to host their Men’s Basketball Tournament
again,” said Rob Higgins, Executive Director of the Tampa Bay
Sports Commission. “We’ve truly enjoyed our
relationship with the league over the years and this will be
another opportunity to work together to do something special for
their phenomenal student-athletes.”

The awarding of the 2022 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament
further adds to Tampa Bay’s resume of upcoming major
collegiate events. In addition to the SEC Men’s Basketball
Tournament, Tampa Bay will host the 2015 NCAA Division I
Women’s Final Four, the 2016 Division I NCAA Men’s
Frozen Four, the 2017 College Football National Championship and
the 2018 Division I Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and
Field Preliminary Championship.

“The entire Tampa Bay Times Forum team is excited about
today’s announcement,” said Steve Griggs, President of
the Times Forum. “We look forward to working with the Tampa
Bay Sports Commission and the rest of Team Tampa Bay on the
successful execution of the SEC Men’s Basketball Championship
in 2022. We are grateful to the leadership of the member
institutions for electing to come back to Tampa Bay and our
facility with this event.”

The SEC member schools include the University of Alabama,
University of Arkansas, Auburn University, University of Florida,
University of Georgia, University of Kentucky, Louisiana State
University, University of Mississippi, Mississippi State
University, University of Missouri, University of South Carolina,
University of Tennessee, Texas A&M University and Vanderbilt
University.

For additional information, please visit the official home of
the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, www.TampaBaySports.org, or
follow us on Twitter @SportsTampaBay. All media inquiries can be
directed to Michael Farrant, Tampa Bay Sports Commission Multimedia
Specialist, at MFarrant@VisitTampaBay.com or (813) 342-4077.